Tom and Ellen Brooks of Marietta walk down South Salina Street in downtown Syracuse with their three Irish Setters, MacGhan, MacGee and MacGoo before the start of the St. Patrick's Parade in 2011.

Syracuse, NY – The first Republican mayor of Belfast, Northern Ireland, will march Saturday in the Syracuse St. Patrick’s Parade sponsored by Guinness.

The Right Honorable Alex Maskey, who was elected Belfast mayor in 2002, was also the first Sinn Fein councilor to be elected to the Belfast City Council in 1984.

Maskey spearheaded Sinn Fein’s diver into the city council, and survived two attempts on his life.

He is a senior negotiator for the party and serves as Sinn Fein’s spokesman for Policing and Justice. He is also a member of the Policing Board.

Maskey was also an amateur boxer.

He is in Syracuse at the invitation of former U.S. Rep. James T. Walsh, who was active in efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland, long the site of conflict between Protestants and Catholics.

Walsh chaired the congressional Friends of Ireland and established a program known as the Walsh Visa Program that created opportunities for young people from Northern Ireland to come to the United States to learn job skills.

The parade steps off at noon Saturday from Clinton Square and travels down Salina Street. It will feature 125 marching units, including bands, dancers, horses, dogs and a first-ever appearance by cartoon character Yogi Bear.

The Grand Marshal’s dinner will begin at 6 p.m. Friday at the Oncenter.

Centro is relocating its main bus stop in downtown Syracuse from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to accommodate the parade.

Centro’s Common Center at the intersection of Fayette and Salina Streets will be relocated to State Street and East Fayette Street.